Dragon Age: Roegar's Calling
by Eric Lichfield
Summary: Thirty years ago, the exiled prince of Orzammar Roegar Aeducan became a Grey Warden, and the Hero of Fereldan. Now, is the time of his calling, and he must answer it.


**Amaranthine Stronghold**

The nightmares did not cease; Roegar had not slept for days, they hadn't been this bad since after his joining. He knew deep down that it was his time, the time of the Calling, he could hear the ancient whisper's from the darkness, from the Old Gods, the whispers eventually turned to shattering screams, enough to pierce the walls of the Fade itself.

Once he composed himself, he got up and walked over to the mirror. He tied his dark brown hair back and plaited his beard in a traditional dwarven style. His face showed stark signs of fatigue, he had could barely sleep or eat, even the sleeping draught that the mages within his fortress had sent him did no good at all.

Alistair had long ago warned him, of the fate of all Grey Wardens, of how the taint would begin to take a hold, and it how it would eventually fill and consume him. Thirty years had passed now, since his exile from Orzammar, since he drank the blood of the Darkspawn and became a Warden, and since he helped his brother Bhelen ascend to the Throne of Orzammar, since his friend Alistair sacrificed his life to vanquish the Archdemon.

He had come a long way since then, once a young carefree Prince of Orzammar and now the first Dwarf to command the Grey Wardens in Fereldan. But, his time had come, the Calling was upon him. Once he was dressed into his armour and surcoat with the Grey Warden emblem of the Gryphon upon it. He summoned his second in command, Kaleb, an young Orlesian Chevalier who had been his most trusted lieutenant for the past fifteen years years.

"Kaleb" he said gruffly,

"Yes Roegar?" the young Orlesian replied to him,

"I need to travel to Orzammar, to visit my brother King Bhelen, it is a matter of utmost importance",

"Have you not heard?"

"Heard what?", Roegar muttered back, fearing something was wrong,

"Your Brother King Bhelen...he is, dead". In that moment, Roegar froze, and there was a long silence. He looked away and faced to his window,

"Dead, how?",

"They were on an expedition, into the deep roads to find an ancient Thaig from the old dynasties, and...there was a Darkspawn ambush, I am sorry Roegar". Roegar remained silent he picked up his axes and shield with the Aeducan family crest on it, "I must leave at once",

"My lord",

"Yes?", Roegar asked sternly, Kaleb paused, then said,

"You do not have to lie to me Roegar, I know why you are leaving...", Roegar sighed and responded,

"It is my time Kaleb. I am not old, but I am not getting any younger my dear friend. All those years ago, I was framed for my older brother's death, and my father exiled me into the Deep Roads, where I would fight the Darkspawn, until I was over run and vanquished, Duncan found me, and saved me. Either way, I would die in battle against the Darkspawn, either way, this was my fate. I have been named Roegar the Hero of Fereldan, Roegar the Kingmaker and Roegar the Brave, titles and honours mean little to me anymore, I am a Grey Warden, above all else, I seek no crowns, no glory, no titles, only to slay the Darkspawn wherever they hide, and to defend Thedas from their evil, and from another Blight. This is why our order exists, and this is why we are needed. Our lives are short, and one day, we all hear the Calling. Kaleb, this is a journey I shall not return from. In my stead, I name you Commander of the Grey Wardens", Kaleb stood there, awestruck and speechless, he mumbled back,

"I will make you proud Roegar, I swear by the Maker and Blessed Andraste!", Roegar made his way over to a chest and pulled out a sheathed old sword,

"This is for you, this once belonged to Duncan, I have never been one for swords myself but, I think it needs a new owner". In an instant, the Orlesian crouched down and hugged Roegar, he then took the sword and said, "This blade shall never be dry of the blood of Darkspawn, I swear it!",

"And remember our words Kaleb. In War, Victory!",

"In Peace, Vigilance!",

"In Death...Sacrifice", Roegar said finally. He made his way down to the Courtyard, mounted his horse, and rode off.

**Orzammar**

After spending several days travelling west, he arrived at the Forstback Mountains. He found the ancient stone gates of Orzammar, in their ancient might and glory, it had been so many years since Roegar last set foot in his old homeland. At the entrance he was greeted by the House Aeducan Royal Guard, "What is your business in Orzammar surface dweller?",

"I am Roegar Aeducan, Commander of the Grey Wardens, I am here on Grey Warden business",

"You were Bhelen's brother right?", one of the guards asked, Roegar nodded, the guard then said "Right this way my lord".

They walked through the hall of heroes, the stone carvings and sculptures of the great Paragons lined the hall, the molten fountains in the walls filling the room with ungodly heat. The great doors opened, and they were greeted by more guards in the Commons and a brown haired dwarf with a great thick beard wearing a set grand attire and wearing the dwarven crown forged by Branka that Roegar had given to Bhelen. The guard then said "Your Highness, I present to the Commander of the Grey Wardens", and then looked at Roegar and said, "And this is King Roegar Aeducan the nephew and last heir of the late King Bhelen". Roegar could not believe what he heard, the King walked over to Roegar and asked, "And what is your name may I ask Grey Warden?", Roegar paused and said,

"Roegar, Roegar Aeducan, your highness", The King paused and calmly asked,

"Father, is that, is it you?", Roegar looked into the King's eyes, and he knew, it was the son he fathered many years ago,

"Yes it is, son, yes it is". The King then ordered his guards to follow them back to the royal palace, as quickly as possible. The King ordered everyone to clear the throne room, once everyone was gone, the two stood there in mutual yet awkward silence, Roegar tried to unsuccessfully break the silence, and said,

"You got tall",

"Yeah, for a dwarf" the King responded, he then took his crown off, placed it on the throne and hugged his father. Roegar embraced the son who he had never met, and he refused to let go for one instant. King Roegar said to his father, "Uncle Bhelen used to tell me of how you made his King, despite your past grievances, and how you helped shape how Orzammar is today, how you united Fereldan against the Darkspawn and, saved us all". Although Roegar was happy to see his son again, he knew why he came to Orzammar, and knew that the reunion would be brief,

"Your highness...",

"You are my father, no need to call me such formal titles!" King Roegar interrupted,

"Son, I came here for a reason, I came to travel to the Deep Roads, it is, the time of my calling", he replied regretfully. The King's mood was then, brought down,

"What, what do you mean?", he asked,

"A Grey Warden's life is never long, we consume the blood of Darkspawn when we join the order, and we master the taint so that we can fight the Darkspawn, and sense them. But, the taint takes a hold eventually, and rather than let it consume us, we fight the Darkspawn in the Deep Roads...until we die", King Roegar looked into his father's eyes, and said,

"But, Father..",

"No son, I cannot avert this, even if we try to run from it, we are eventually called to seek out the Old Gods, and their call gets louder and louder. I have no choice". Roegar pulled the elegant round shield made from silverite with the Aeducan crest on it, that was slung over his back, "This was once an heirloom to our family, my father before me sent me to retrieve it, and, I have carried it into battle ever since, it is rightfully yours, your highness", Roegar said as he handed the shield over to his son. The King took the shield and Roegar then said, "You may have been born a bastard child, but you are a true Aeducan, we have ruled Orzammar honourably for centuries, and you do the ancestors and me proud. I did not father a bastard, I fathered a king",

"And I am not the son of an exile, but the son of a hero" the King responded,

"Goodbye son",

"Goodbye father", King Roegar said, as he watched his father walk away, for the last time.

**The Deep Roads**

Roegar entered the dark caverns that led to the Deep Roads, pillars and sculptures built by the ancestors, all ruined and left to the decay of time. All was silent where he was, the scurrying of Nugs and Deepstalkers could not be heard at all, Roegar knew deep down where to go, he could sense the presence of Dark Spawn, the deeper into the caverns he travelled. He came into a great cavern filled with jagged stalagmites and stalactites, in the centre was a great chasm and a pathway leading up to him, he could sense hundreds of Darkspawn nearby and could hear the sound of their armour clanging as they marched through. He made his way down to them, where he saw several groups around, disorganised Hurlocks and Genlocks and Ogres huddled around. He shouted out to them, "Hey you ugly son's of whores!", the Darkspawn saw him, and began to charge at him He drew out two axes from his belt and then began to charge towards them and he let out his fiercest battle cry, "FOR THE GREY WARDENS!". His first swing cut the throat of a Genlock, and the next buried itself into the skull of a Hurlock, keeping full momentum he kept hacking and slashing, taking down Darkspawn with every strike. Blood splattered everywhere, he was an unrelenting force as he cut his way through over two dozen Darkspawn both Genlock and the taller Hurlocks.

The more he killed, the more Darkspawn came towards him. He had not fought this many since the Battle of Denerim, since he fought beside, King Alistair his brother in the Grey Wardens, Oghren his fellow Dwarf warrior, and Sten the Quinari. He was alone this time, and this was his fight, this was his final battle. He finished off the last batch of Darkspawn before him, and suddenly, he heard the roar of hundreds upon hundreds of Darkspawn. He turned around and saw them, all ready to attack. Time stood still for a minute, and Roegar stood there, blood dripping from his axes, and he knew, that he was ready, to answer the Calling. He looked out


End file.
